Moses Faubion (1778-1847)
}} Moses was born on February 3, 1780 in Fauquier county, Virginia to Jacob Faubion and Diannah Rector.(1) He was one of the middle children in a large family. His oldest sister was about ten years older, his youngest sister about ten years younger. He probably learned blacksmithing from his father.(2) When he was sixteen years or younger, he went with his parents and his brothers and sisters across the “Great Mountains” into Cherokee County, i.e., Tennessee. In 1798, Moses married Mary McPike in East Tennessee.(3) She was the daughter of Obedience Holloway and William McPike, both of whom were born in Ireland.(4) In 1820, when a Methodist campground was established near Old Newport, Tennessee and later moved to Parrotsville, Tennessee, Moses and one of his brothers were among the principle “tenters.”(5) In 1827, Moses, Mary and 13 of their 15 children, moved to Indiana.(6) They left behind a small son buried in Tennessee and their eldest son, Jacob, who decided to stay in Tennessee with his family.(7) They sold their farm in Tennessee for $5,000. They made the trip in one four-horse wagon and one six-horse wagon.(8) They may have had to “stop over” for a period of time somewhere along the way.(9) Moses settled his family on a farm north of the present Heltonville, Pleasant Run Township in Lawrence county, Indiana. Moses’s sons Henry and William are shown as heads of households in the 1830 Indiana census as is Samuel Fowler who had married Moses’s daughter, Charlotte. On October 10, 1831, Moses bought a farm near Heltonville.(10) The Faubions were one of the pioneering families of Lawrence county, Indiana.(11) Not long after the family moved to Indiana, Mary (McPike) Faubion died on 18 Jan 1830 in Lawrence county, Indiana.(12) Moses apparently never remarried. During the 1830’s, several of Moses’s siblings and their families moved from Tennessee to Missouri, including Jacob and Spencer Faubion, the children of his brother John Faubion, and the family of his deceased sister, Sally (Faubion) Broadhurst. Moses’s will, dated August 13, 1845, was admitted for probate and proved on December 6, 1847. On December 16, 1847, Moses’s sons Noah and William were named administrators of the estate and their brother Enoch as security. (Noah and William were literate, each signing their names while Enoch signed with an “x.”) Moses’s estate was settled sometime after his daughter Obedience died on January 15, 1848; her heirs are listed in the settlement document. Moses, as well as his wife, Mary, were buried in the Faubion Cemetery in Pleasant Run Township in Lawrence county, Indiana. The will of Moses Faubion: “This indenture made the 13th day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty-five by me Moses Faubion, of the County of Lawrence and State of Indiana, being of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given unto God calling unto mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and Testament, that is say principally and first of all I give and recommend my soul unto the hand of Almighty God that gave it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent Christian burial at the descretion sic of my Executors. Nothing doubting but that at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the Mighty power of God. And no touching Such Worldly estate where with it has pleased God to bless me with in this life. I give and dispose of the same in the following manner and form, after making my two sons William Faubion and Noah Faubion my Executors for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this, my will, to wit, “1st I desire that my two daughters Diannah Faubion and Mary Faubion shall have all theirs beds and bedding, saddles and such other articles as they may now have, or may hereafter obtain whilst they may remain with me. “2nd I desire that all my personal property that I may have at the time of my decease shall be disposed of and the proceeds thereof together with any other moneys or effects that may be in my hands after paying my funeral expenses to be distributed as follows, viz., To my sons Jacob Faubion decd (to be paid to his heirs) and William Faubion, Henry Faubion decd (to be paid to his heirs), John Faubion, Jesse Faubion, Enoch Faubion and Noah Faubion, I give one dollar each; they having received the greater part of their portions heretofore: and the remainder to be equally divided among my daughters, viz., Charlotte Holland, Obedience Fowler, Diannah Faubion, Mary Faubion, Margaret Holland, Malinda Cummings and Elizabeth Cummings. Except the following amounts which have been already paid, and are to be deducted from their respective shares, namely, to Charlotte Holland Eighteen dollars, to Obedience Fowler Fifty Seven dollars (for mare money __ ?) to Margaret Holland Eleven Dollars, to Malinda Cummings eight Dollars; and to Elizabeth Cummings Five dollars. “This ordain to be my last will and testament revoking all others. Given under my hand and seal the day and year first written. his Moses x Faubion mark “Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of John F. Walker and Russell Mitchell.” Family Reunion Article from The Bedford Mail, Friday, July 17, 1896, page 5, column 1: Family Re-union On Saturday, July 11, 1896, one hundred and twenty (representing five generations of the descendants of Moses and Mary Faubion, met on the farm now owned by Quire Bonham, north of Heltonville, Ind., near the old "Faubion Cemetery" where they spread a bounteous repast, and after eating, rendered the following program: Prayer by Elder David Cummings. A receitation, "We Have Met at Grand-fathers Old Home" -- by Miss Alpha East. A well prepared history of the family, by Dr. D.J. Faubion, of which the following is a part: Jacob Faubion was born in Germany; emigrated tot he commonwealth of Virginia; served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, being at Yorktown, when Cornwallis surrendered. Married Diannah Rector, to which union was born six children in Virginia, namely: Henry, John, Moses, William, Jacob and Spencer. After their removal to Cooke sic county, Tennessee, four were born viz: Sarah, Mary, Nancy and Elizabeth. To the union of John McPike and Obedience Holloway, natives of Ireland, were born, William, Sarah, Mary, John, Charlotte, Obedience, James, Jesse and Jane. The first two seeing light in the "old country," the third -- Mary -- in Virginia, and the remaining in Tennessee. Moses, the third child of Jacob and Dinah Faubion, was born February 27th, 1778, in Virginia. Fifteen children, all born in Tennessee, blest this union: Charlotte, Jacob, William, Henry, Obedience, John, Dinah, Jesse, Margaret, Enoch, Edom, Noah, Malinda and Elizabeth. The father having sold his possessions in the above named State for $5,000, with his wife and thirteen children, came to Lawrence county, Indiana, in 1831, settling upon this farm, making the trip in one four-horse and one six-horse wagon. The wife died January, 1836, and the husband November,. 1847. They with William, Henry, Obedience, Dinah, Mary, Enoch and Malinda (my mother) rest in yonder burial place; Jacob and Edna sleep in the dust of Tennessee; Charlotte in the Holland family burial place in this county; John in Kansas; Jesse in Shelby county, Mo.; Noah in Illinois, while Margaret, wife of John Holland, and Elizabeth, wife of David Cummings, survive. This farm remained in the family until 1866. Doubtless the progeny of the Faubion-McPike families are scattered throughout the United States. On motion an organization was perfected as follows: President, Dr. James Faubion; Vice-President, J.H. Faubion; Secretary, Dr. H.A. Cummings; Cor. Secretary, Miss Rebecca Faubion; Committee on Arrangements, Mrs. Mary Reed, Geo. M. Cummings, Lucien Payne. Adjourned to meet Saturday, before the fourth Lord's Day in May, 1897. James Faubion, Pres. A. H. Cummings, Sec.